When Justine, who lives with secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis, parked her car in a disabled bay in a shopping centre in Melbourne, she had no idea that she would return to a nasty, anonymous note. The note, with the words, "Did you forget your wheelchair?" was stuck to the windscreen, directly above her disability parking permit on the dashboard.

How could this be?

Simple: Justine walked into the shopping centre.

Our opinions and conclusions are greatly influenced by what we see.

If someone looks healthy, they obviously can't be too sick, right?

Too often these judgements are completely wrong.

I ask you this: Would you like to stop breathing on the idea that air, being mostly invisible to the naked eye, isn't a real thing?

We smile, we laugh and we get on with things, trying to live each day to the best of our abilities, to be happy.

Know this though: For all my apparent healthy appearance and sunny disposition, I am legally disabled.

I am battling a daily struggle. I am restricted by chronic pain, fatigue and neurological dysfunction including numbness, weakness and intermittent spasticity in my limbs.

As I recently described in a conversation to my doctor:

"My right leg has been numb from thigh to ankle for the past three weeks; my hands are tingling and short circuiting like a failing strobe light; fatigue has knocked the wind out of my sails; pain is having a party at my expense; the nerve burn is kicking into overdrive in my arms...you want me to keep going?!"

These symptoms aren't always obvious to the untrained observer, so even though my life is far from normal, I am often mistaken for having a perfectly functioning body.

And I'm persecuted for it.

We need to start assuming the best of people instead of the worst.

Don't jump on a driver with a parking permit just because they or their passenger isn't in a wheelchair.

Bree Hogan is a certified holistic health coach and the founder of Starbrite Warrior, an online resource and support community for women living with invisible illness who want to do more than just simply cope. Visit Starbrite Warrior for updates, inspiration and a free eBook from Bree!